President Kennedy at a dinner for U.S. Rep. Albert Thomas at the Sam Houston Coliseum. With the president is Thomas’ wife, Lera Millard Thomas, Vice President Lyndon Johnson and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy.

Tom Colburn : Chronicle file

Spectators at Houston International Airport gather to get a glimpse of the president. M.C. Reynolds, center, of the 6800 block of Evans, was the first one the president shook hands with when he greeted the crowd.

Tom Colburn : Chronicle file

President Kennedy bids farewell to Houston before leaving for Fort Worth.

Great job, as usual. I was fortunate to have a mother who realized that the parade goes by only once. Consequently, she took us to every parade she could. We got to see a lot of famous people ride through the streets of Houston. I’ve always believed that Kennedy’s death felt so surreal to me because I had seen him just the day before.

Great Blog. I love the old pics of Houston. I used to have a large folder on my computer of historical photos of Houston, but I think I lost them during a computer crash. I’ll check my back-up discs.

One of my favorites were the ones with that little church, nowadays surrounded by the Galleria, before the Galleria was built. The church is still there across the street from Macy’s at I think Sage and West Alabama. That might be an interesting story for you. I don’t know if it is vacant or still has services, but the church building is intact.

As for Kennedy in Houston, I was 7 months old and my parents told me they lived near the airport. Maybe, he flew over me. Of course, I don’t remember.

Well, I don’t think JFK deserved what he got. He didn’t deserve to be president. And he didn’t deserve to be killed.

But then, the United States didn’t deserve what happened to it either.

Following Ike’s term, things went down-hill fast for this nation. I believe it was because things were going so good and we didn’t handle the good times that well following the war.

Those in high school when WWII ended were of the generation who thought the rest of the world owed us – either because we “saved them” or we “beat them.” Therefor our “leadership” should be followed aa we were the ‘police, judge and hero’ for what was right in the world. At first the world seemed to agree but soon they became resentful of our attitude.

At home,eople, who for so long had little, were coming up in society. The very poor reached just high enough to realize what they had been living without. It hurt and angered them. And they reacted – all too often with violence.

Other people had reached a level where they were able to give their children to higher education. Sadly, many of these young people had been GIVEN everything all their lives, never having to work for it like their ancestors. They were taught everything except responsibility and gratitude.

And holding all these things in its deadly grip, was the probable nuclear holocaust. While little kids were taught three blasts on the school sirens meant they should file into the hall, duck, and cover, their older counter-parts knew it meant they were dead – along with everything they had ever known.

And though they don’t realize it, many are still waiting to hear those sirens.

I’d forgotten Hobby’s old name – Houston International Airport. Ain’t it funny how time slips away.

I had just turned 4 a few months prior to his death. I was at a nursery (they didn’t call them day care centers then) run by a huge Kennedy supporter. She took the whole nursery out to see Kennedy….. I’m not sure where we were – it must have been Colt Stadium because I vividly remember being in bleachers as he drove around. The woman that owned the day care center had checked her son out of school (he was about 8 yrs old). I remember when JFK came by, she pushed us all out of the way and directed her son to the front row. I remember hanging over railing and waving at him. I also remember the next day seeing my mother rocking and crying in the middle of the family room floor, in front of the television and wondering what had happened. Even as a young child, I knew that it was a major event and it was strange that I had just seen the man the day before.